U.S. patent number 8,356,684 [Application Number 12/470,780] was granted by the patent office on 2013-01-22 for industrial truck having a battery compartment base with roller accommodation openings.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Jungheinrich Aktiengesellschaft. The grantee listed for this patent is Rolf Boegelein, Christoph Zeidler. Invention is credited to Rolf Boegelein, Christoph Zeidler.
United States Patent |
8,356,684 |
Boegelein , et al. |
January 22, 2013 |
Industrial truck having a battery compartment base with roller
accommodation openings
Abstract
An industrial truck having a battery compartment that
accommodates a replaceable battery block, the battery compartment
comprising at least one lateral access opening for inserting and
for withdrawing the battery block, the base of the battery
compartment having at least one guide track in the battery movement
direction capable of supporting the battery block such that it can
move relative to the battery compartment on the guide track by a
support element provided on the battery block. The battery
compartment base may have a plurality of roller accommodation
openings into which rollers can be inserted. A separate shelf may
be arranged at a distance from the battery compartment base by
means of spacers, the shelf having a plurality of roller
accommodation openings into which rollers can be inserted.
Inventors: |
Boegelein; Rolf (Crailsheim,
DE), Zeidler; Christoph (Landshut, DE) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Boegelein; Rolf
Zeidler; Christoph |
Crailsheim
Landshut |
N/A
N/A |
DE
DE |
|
|
Assignee: |
Jungheinrich Aktiengesellschaft
(Hamburg, DE)
|
Family
ID: |
41010353 |
Appl.
No.: |
12/470,780 |
Filed: |
May 22, 2009 |
Prior Publication Data
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|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20090291358 A1 |
Nov 26, 2009 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
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May 23, 2008 [DE] |
|
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10 2008 024 854 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
180/68.5;
180/65.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60L
50/66 (20190201); B66F 9/0754 (20130101); B60K
1/04 (20130101); Y02T 10/7005 (20130101); B60L
2200/44 (20130101); B60K 2001/0494 (20130101); Y02P
90/60 (20151101); Y02T 10/705 (20130101); Y02T
10/70 (20130101); B60Y 2200/15 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B60R
16/04 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;180/65.1,65.8,68.5
;193/37 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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199 56 623 |
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Jun 2001 |
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DE |
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10 2004 047 342 |
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Mar 2006 |
|
DE |
|
10 2005 022 094 |
|
Nov 2006 |
|
DE |
|
10 2007 031 149 |
|
Jan 2009 |
|
DE |
|
0 030 928 |
|
Jun 1981 |
|
EP |
|
1 415 874 |
|
May 2004 |
|
EP |
|
2003095591 |
|
Apr 2003 |
|
JP |
|
Primary Examiner: Restifo; Jeffrey J
Assistant Examiner: Evans; Bryan
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Rothwell, Figg, Ernst &
Manbeck, P.C.
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. An industrial truck comprising: a battery compartment that
accommodates a replaceable battery block within, the battery
compartment comprising: at least one lateral access opening for
inserting and for withdrawing the battery block in a battery
movement direction, and a base having at least one guide track in
the battery movement direction capable of supporting the battery
block such that the battery block is capable of moving relative to
the battery compartment on said guide track by a support element
provided on said battery block, wherein the battery compartment
base has a plurality of roller accommodation openings into which
rollers, which are to be associated with the battery compartment
base, are capable of being inserted, wherein the rollers, when
inserted in respective roller accommodation openings, are supported
on the battery compartment base and are arranged in such a way that
the lowermost face of a battery block supported on and contacting
said rollers is situated above the at least one guide track.
2. The industrial truck as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support
element is a rolling body or a sliding shoe.
3. The industrial truck as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rollers,
when inserted into the roller accommodation openings, have rotation
axes oriented orthogonally to the movement direction of the battery
block, and a respective roller is capable of being supported on the
battery compartment base in the region of edges of the opening by
means of shaft end pieces of the roller.
4. The industrial truck as claimed in claim 1, wherein protection
elements, which at least partially surround the respective roller,
are provided on a lower face of the openings in the battery
compartment base.
5. The industrial truck as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rollers
are accommodated in respective adapters that are capable of being
inserted into the openings.
6. The industrial truck as claimed in claim 5, wherein rotation
axes of the rollers are oriented orthogonally to the movement
direction of the battery block in the openings, and the adapter has
lateral roller mounts in the rotation axis direction capable of
supporting respective rollers by means of shaft end pieces of the
respective rollers.
7. The industrial truck as claimed in claim 6, wherein the adapter
has a supporting edge region which projects beyond the opening
contour and by way of which the adapter rests on the battery
compartment base.
8. The industrial truck as claimed in claim 7, wherein the adapter
comprises at least one protection element which is connected to the
supporting edge region and at least partially surrounds an inserted
roller.
9. The industrial truck as claimed in claim 7, wherein the roller
mounts of the adapter are connected to the supporting edge
region.
10. The industrial truck as claimed in claim 3, wherein the shaft
end pieces have a recesses in such a way that the shaft end pieces
have planar mounting surfaces that rest on the battery compartment
base or mount profiles formed on said battery compartment base, or
on roller mounts of an adapter capable of being inserted into one
of the openings.
11. The industrial truck as claimed in claim 10, wherein the shaft
end pieces have a cross section in the form of a segment of a
circle.
12. An industrial truck comprising: a battery compartment that
accommodates a replaceable battery block within, the battery
compartment comprising: at least one lateral access opening for
inserting and for withdrawing the battery block in a battery
movement direction, and a base having at least one guide track in
the battery movement direction capable of supporting the battery
block such that the battery block is capable of moving relative to
the battery compartment on said guide track by a support element
provided on said battery block; and a separate shelf arranged at a
distance above the battery compartment base by means of spacers and
capable of being inserted into the battery compartment, said shelf
having a plurality of roller accommodation openings into which
rollers, which are to be associated with the shelf, are capable of
being inserted, wherein the spacers define the distance of the
separate shelf above the battery compartment base, and wherein the
rollers are capable of being inserted into the roller accommodation
openings and, when inserted into the roller accommodation openings,
are arranged in such a way that the lowermost face of a battery
block supported on said rollers is situated above the upper face of
the shelf.
13. The industrial truck as claimed in claim 11, wherein rotation
axes of the rollers are oriented orthogonally to the movement
direction of the battery block in the openings, and a respective
roller is capable of being supported on the shelf in the region of
the edges of the opening by means of shaft end pieces of the
roller.
14. The industrial truck as claimed in claim 12, wherein protection
elements, which at least partially surround the respective roller,
are provided on a lower face of the openings in the shelf.
15. The industrial truck as claimed in claim 12, wherein the
rollers are accommodated in respective adapters that are capable of
being inserted into the openings.
16. The industrial truck as claimed in claim 13, wherein the shaft
end pieces have a recesses in such a way that the shaft end pieces
have planar mounting surfaces that rest on the battery compartment
base or mount profiles formed on said battery compartment base, or
on roller mounts of an adapter capable of being inserted into one
of the openings and/or the shaft end pieces have a cross section in
the form of a segment of a circle.
17. The industrial truck of claim 1, wherein the industrial truck
is a forklift truck.
18. The industrial truck of claim 12, wherein the industrial truck
is a forklift truck.
Description
SUMMARY
The present invention relates to an industrial truck, in particular
a forklift truck, having a replaceable battery block and a battery
compartment which accommodates the battery block, with the battery
compartment comprising at least one lateral access opening for
inserting and for withdrawing the battery block, with the base of
the battery compartment having at least one guide track in the
battery movement direction, it being possible for the battery block
to be supported such that it can move relative to the battery
compartment on said guide track by a support element which is
provided on said battery block.
The applicant has already applied for an industrial truck of this
type in the prior patent application DE 10 2007 031 149.6. In a
refinement of the battery compartment base with at least one guide
track which, according to one embodiment of said prior patent
application, has two rail-like guide profiles on which rollers
which are arranged on the battery can move, the problem faced is
that, in a battery compartment configured in such a way, battery
blocks which are configured in another way and which, in
particular, do not have support elements or rollers which
correspond to the guide profiles can be inserted into the battery
compartment only with difficulty or not at all.
The object of the invention is to develop the industrial truck of
said type in such a way that battery blocks which are formed in
various ways can be accommodated in the battery compartment.
To this end, it is proposed, in accordance with a first aspect
according to the invention, that the battery compartment base has a
plurality of roller accommodation openings into which rollers which
are to be associated with the battery compartment can be inserted
as required.
According to a second aspect according to the invention, it is
proposed that a separate shelf which is arranged at a distance from
the battery compartment base by means of spacers can be inserted
into the battery compartment, said shelf having a plurality of
roller accommodation openings into which rollers which are to be
associated with the shelf can be inserted as required.
Insertion of rollers into the battery compartment base directly or
into a shelf which is arranged above said battery compartment base
allows a battery block to be inserted into the battery compartment
and withdrawn from the battery compartment without dedicated
rolling or sliding support elements by way of its lower face on the
rollers in the battery compartment base or in the shelf. Flexible
accommodation of various battery blocks can be ensured by virtue of
said configuration of the battery compartment base with roller
accommodation openings or by inserting a separate shelf with such
roller accommodation openings.
The rollers which can be inserted into the roller accommodation
openings are preferably arranged in such a way that the lower face
of a battery block which is supported on said rollers is situated
above the at least one guide track. In this case, the arrangement
of the battery block above the guide track depends firstly on the
dimensioning of the rollers and secondly on the relative position
of the rollers in relation to the battery compartment base. In the
case of the additional shelf, it is preferred when the rollers
which can be inserted into the roller accommodation openings are
arranged in such a way that the lower face of a battery block which
is supported on said rollers is situated above the upper face of
the shelf. As a result, the battery block can be moved freely on
the rollers which are inserted in the shelf. In the case of the
shelf, the distance between the lower face of the battery block and
the upper face of the shelf can also be determined and possibly
varied by virtue of the dimensioning of the rollers and the
relative positioning of said rollers in relation to the shelf.
Both in the case of rollers which are arranged in the battery
compartment base and rollers which are arranged in the shelf, it is
preferred that the rotation axes of the rollers are oriented
orthogonally to the movement direction of the battery block in the
openings, it being possible for a respective roller to be supported
on the battery compartment base or on the shelf in the region of
the opening edges by means of its shaft end pieces.
Protection elements which at least partially surround the
respective roller are preferably provided on the lower face of the
openings in the battery compartment base or in the shelf, as a
result of which damage to the rollers from below can be prevented.
Such damage can occur, for example, in the case of the battery
compartment base when the industrial truck moves over uneven floor
surfaces, with the lower face of the battery compartment base
briefly coming into contact with the floor surface. In the case of
the shelf, the lower face of said shelf can strike the requisite
spacers, for example as said shelf is inserted into or removed from
the battery compartment. Furthermore, the protection elements,
which surround the rollers at the bottom in the case of the shelf,
allow the shelf to be placed on the protection elements on a floor
surface when said shelf is not in use.
According to a preferred variant, the rollers can be inserted into
the openings by means of a respective adapter in which they are
accommodated. In this case, the adapter is preferably configured in
such a way that it can be inserted into the openings in the battery
compartment base or in the shelf in an interlocking manner and with
little play.
In the case of the adapter, the rotation axes of the rollers are
also oriented orthogonally to the movement direction of the battery
block in the openings, and the adapter can have lateral roller
bearings in the rotation axis direction, it being possible for a
respective roller to be supported on said roller bearing by means
of its shaft end pieces.
In order to be able to effectively support an adapter and in order
to be able to optimally transmit the forces, which act when the
battery block is accommodated, from the roller, via the adapter, to
the battery compartment base or to the shelf, it is proposed that
the adapter has a supporting edge region which projects beyond the
opening contour and by way of which the adapter rests on the
battery compartment base. A supporting edge region of this type can
be of continuous design or have a plurality of sections which are
separated from one another, with the supporting edge region
preferably being of planar design and being in surface contact with
the upper face of the battery compartment base or the shelf.
According to one development, the adapter has a protection element
which is connected to the supporting edge region and at least
partially surrounds an inserted roller, said protection element
fulfilling the same function as a protection element described
above in relation to the battery compartment base or the shelf.
It is also proposed that the roller mounts of the adapter are
connected to the supporting edge region, so that forces which act
on the rollers or the shaft end pieces can be transmitted to the
respective base via the roller mounts and the supporting edge
region.
In the case of the presented variant with an adapter, a roller and
an adapter can form a kind of roller module, it being possible to
dispense with corresponding protection elements on the battery
compartment base or on the shelf itself when the protection element
is provided on the adapter.
According to one embodiment, the shaft end pieces of the rollers
have recesses which are formed in such a way that the shaft end
pieces have a planar mounting surface, which mounting surfaces rest
on the battery compartment base or on the shelf, possibly so as to
provide corresponding profile pieces, or on the roller mounts of
the adapter.
It is particularly preferred when the shaft end pieces have a cross
section in the form of a segment of a circle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be explained in greater detail below by way of
example and with reference to the appended figures using two
exemplary embodiments.
FIG. 1 shows a perspective oblique view of a battery compartment
base of an industrial truck, with roller accommodation openings
being formed in the battery compartment base.
FIG. 2 shows an illustration of the battery compartment base with
rollers inserted.
FIG. 3 shows a view of the battery compartment base of FIG. 2 from
a somewhat different perspective.
FIG. 4 shows an embodiment with a shelf into which rollers are
inserted by means of an adapter.
FIG. 5 shows a perspective illustration of a roller which can be
inserted into the base openings.
FIG. 6 shows a perspective illustration of an adapter with a roller
accommodated.
FIGS. 7a and 7b show, in the case of the embodiment with openings
in the battery compartment base, the insertion of rollers by direct
support of the rollers on the battery compartment base (FIG. 7a)
and by support of the rollers by means of adapters (FIG. 7b), in
each case in a cross-sectional view in accordance with section line
VII-VII of FIG. 3.
FIG. 8 shows the embodiment with a shelf in cross section in
accordance with section line VIII-VIII of FIG. 6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a battery compartment base 10 of
a battery compartment 12 (only indicated), with the viewing
direction selected to be from the side of an access opening for
inserting and for withdrawing a battery compartment. Reference is
made to the prior art and to the prior application DE 10 2007 031
149.6 with respect to the arrangement of such a battery compartment
12 on an industrial truck (not illustrated here). It should be
noted that sliding shoes or the like can be provided on the battery
block instead of rollers, it being possible for said sliding shoes
or the like to slide along a guide track with little friction.
Two rail-like guide profiles 16a, 16b are fitted to the battery
compartment base 10, a battery block with rollers arranged on it
being movably supported on said guide profiles. It should be noted
that the battery block can be accommodated, in particular, in a
battery carriage, on which the corresponding rollers are provided,
for this purpose.
A plurality of roller accommodation openings 18, into which rollers
which are to be associated with the battery compartment base 10 can
be inserted as required, are formed in the battery compartment base
10. In this case, the openings 18 are arranged in the vicinity of
the guide tracks 16a, 16b to the left and right in relation to the
viewing direction, and so the widest possible support of a battery
block on the rollers which are inserted into the openings 18 is
possible.
FIGS. 2 and 3 show the battery compartment base 10 with rollers 20
inserted into the openings 18. In this case, the rollers 20 are
supported on the battery compartment base 10 by way of their shaft
end pieces 22 in the edge region of the openings 18. With the
roller 20 directly supported in this way on the battery compartment
base 10 by means of the shaft end pieces 22, as can be seen from
the cross section according to FIG. 7a, a lower face, which is
indicated by a dash-dotted line, of a battery block 23 which is
supported on the rollers 22 is situated above the guide profiles
16a and 16b, and so the battery block 23 can be moved in the
battery compartment, in particular inserted into or withdrawn from
the battery compartment, independently of these guide profiles 16a,
16b.
The rollers accommodated in the battery compartment base 10
according to FIGS. 2, 3 and 7a have cutouts 24 (FIG. 5) in their
shaft end pieces 22, and so the shaft end pieces 22 have a planar
mounting surface 26 by way of which the rollers 20 rest on the
upper face 28 of the battery compartment base 10.
On account of the cutout 24 in the shaft end piece 22, the roller
20 is also guided laterally in the opening 18 in the direction of
its rotation axis D. The rollers are fixed in the movement
direction B of the battery block (orthogonal to the rotation axis
direction D) on account of the interlocking connection between the
shaft end piece 22 and opening edges 30 which run parallel to the
rotation axis direction D.
According to the second embodiment, an additional shelf 40 is
arranged above the battery compartment base 10 by means of spacers
42 in FIG. 4. Roller accommodation openings, into which rollers 20
are inserted by means of an adapter 44 in accordance with FIG. 4,
are likewise formed in the shelf 40. Therefore, a battery block can
be inserted into or withdrawn from the battery compartment on the
rollers 20 on the shelf 40, with the configuration of the battery
compartment base 10 with guide profiles 16a, 16b still not being
taken into account, and so a battery block can also be accommodated
on the shelf 40, said battery block not being provided with any
rollers or not being accommodated in a battery carriage.
The adapter 44 illustrated in FIG. 6 has a supporting edge region
46 which is circumferential in the present exemplary embodiment,
the adapter 44 resting on the upper face 48 of the shelf 40 at said
supporting edge region, as can be seen from the cross-sectional
view according to FIG. 8.
The adapter 44 has lateral guide sections 50 which are bent
downward laterally in the direction of the rotation axis D and
which allow the roller 20 to be guided in the rotation axis section
D. Furthermore, the adapter 44 has protection sections 52 which are
bent downward and which protect the roller 20 which is accommodated
in the adapter 44 from the outside. Finally, an essentially
U-shaped profile piece 54 which is connected, in particular welded,
to the supporting edge region 46 is fitted to the adapter. Cutouts
58 are provided on the limbs 56 of the profile piece 54 which is on
the side in relation to the rotation axis direction D, and so the
inner edge 60 of this cutout 58 forms a lateral roller mount for
the shaft end pieces 22 of the roller 20. With such a configuration
of the adapter 46, shaft end pieces 22 can also be accommodated in
the cutout 58, said shaft end pieces not having a planar mounting
surface, but it being possible for the shaft end pieces 22 to be
supported at their outer circumference by the correspondingly
semicircular inner contour 60.
As can be seen from FIG. 6, the roller 20 and the adapter 44 form a
kind of roller module which can be inserted into openings 18 in the
battery compartment base 10 or in the shelf 40.
For the sake of completeness, reference is also made to FIG. 7b
which illustrates the case in which a roller 20 is supported on the
battery compartment base 10 by means of the adapter 44.
As already mentioned, the arrangement of rollers 20 in the battery
compartment base 10 or the arrangement of a shelf 40 by means of
spacers 42 provides the option of accommodating a battery block in
a battery compartment without dedicated rollers, said battery
compartment being designed, as standard, for the battery block to
be moved on guide profiles 16a, 16b by means of dedicated rollers.
Therefore, the proposed solution of rollers which can be inserted
into the battery compartment base 10 or into a shelf 40 as required
provides flexibility, and so various battery replacement systems
and various battery blocks can be supported. The embodiment with a
shelf 40, which leads to higher positioning of the inserted battery
block, is of interest particularly for replacement systems in which
the battery block is inserted into or removed from the battery
compartment by an apparatus which allows magnetic coupling or
coupling by means of vacuum (suction cup) to a battery block side
wall. By virtue of using correspondingly dimensioned spacers, the
shelf also allows the battery block to be raised to a special
desired level which may be required for a specific replacement
system.
If, for example, a novel industrial truck which is equipped with
the battery compartment base 10 according to FIGS. 1-3 is
purchased, a set of rollers 20 can be additionally acquired. This
means that it is not only possible to use the battery block which
is matched to the battery compartment base 10 with the guide
profiles 16a, 16b, but that it is also possible to use another, in
particular older, battery block of a previous model of the
industrial track, after insertion of the rollers 20 into the
openings 18.
A roller module (roller with adapter) and also rollers which can be
inserted directly into the openings, can be sold together with an
industrial truck. However, it is also be feasible for these rollers
or roller modules to be obtained separately as a type of special
equipment or as an accessory for the industrial truck.
* * * * *